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Even in the absence of HIV infection, patients with cirrhosis are at increased risk for severe infections and often have low CD4-cell counts with preserved CD4-cell percentages (ACC Feb 5 2007). In the presence of HIV infection, these problems may be more pronounced and could have implications for when to start antiretroviral therapy.
To evaluate rates of AIDS-defining illness in relation to absolute CD4-cell count and CD4-cell percentage, investigators studied 6126 HIV-infected patients in Italy. The cohort was divided into three groups:
Group 1: 3470 patients without liver disease or serologic evidence of coinfection with hepatitis B or C virus (HBV; HCV)
Group 2: 2502 patients coinfected with HBV, HCV, or both, without clinical or histologi…